First real test of the new hip

Not much to report on Friday. Another good day. I did go to see my GP about the fever and cold or allergies that seem to be afflicting me right now. Unfortunately nothing conclusive either way. More than likely allergies based on the symptoms and pollen activity in the area. He was concerned about my fever even though it's continued to be low. He gave me a prescription for some antibiotics. Hopefully that will help clear up whatever is going on.

Saturday was the last day for the OxyContin, Celebrex and blood thinner shots. I still have Lortab for pain and have to take aspirin for 6 weeks to replace the blood thinner shots. They are really concerned about blood clots these days. Much different than the past surgeries I've had.

Saturday was also to be a big day. The Komen Race for the Cure for northwest Arkansas was scheduled for today. I was originally signed up for the elite race but the hip replacement canceled that. My wife and our dog Bella, however, were signed up for the first ever Bark for the Cure. This was a chance for people to bring their best friends out to support a great cause.

We had decided a few weeks before surgery that if I was able to I would come to the event so I could at least watch. I love animals and really enjoy taking Bella out in public. It's good therapy for me and my wife and Bella just loves it. She definitely gets a lot of attention.

We left the house at 7 am. The Bark walk started at 8:30, but the elite race started at 7:30 and the regular (big) race started at 8:00. They were expecting 18,000 people this year, so we were worried about parking. The saving grace for us was that the Bark walk started at the PetSmart store instead of the Pinnacle Promenade entrance area where the other races started. We were able to park reasonably close, and come to find out we could have gotten closer but we took some of the first spots we saw just in case there wasn't anything further in.

We walked to the starting line and that's where we were going to setup a chair for me to hang out. The walk was probably 300 yards or so and by far my longest since the surgery. Of course I had both crutches and took it easy, careful to watch my form.

There were so many dogs there already. It is just fascinating to see them all and how they interact. Like I said, Bella gets lots of attention from both people and other dogs. She is a harlequin Great Dane, so she's tall, large and uniquely colored. She's our first Dane and is just a fantastic dog. We love seeing other Danes, too, and luckily there were a few there today.

The walk started a few minutes late but not bad. They announced over 900 dogs registered for the walk! That was amazing, especially for a first time event. It was a lot of fun for me just to watch.

I heard an announcement that the finish line was at a different location. Uh oh! It wasn't far, probably about the same distance I had already walked. I felt good so I decided to go and try to meet my wife and Bella at the finish. I made it over there and apparently the Bark walk was much shorter than we expected. They had already finished! By the grace of God they found me accidentally. They were about to be on their way to find me at the start line.

It made sense where the finish line was because it was located at the main vendor fair for the entire Komen event. We decided to walk around for a while. I still felt okay but was tiring. It took an hour or so to make it through all the vendors. The Promenade was vibrant! It is such a beautiful shopping area and really needs to do more large events like this. Just a perfect venue.

A lot of the dogs and owners from the Bark walk were doing the same thing we were. I'm sure the participants from the main event were wondering where all these dogs came from :)

Where the Bark walk ended there were treats and water for the pooches. Bella got a drink of water and a couple of treats. We met up with our friends and their dogs Phoebe and Gabe, a Pomeranian and a Golden Retriever. They had doggie ice cream! Bella got to lick clean one of the containers and it was obvious she loved it. She loves real ice cream, so doggie ice cream would be no different.

Our friend went to get Bella a container for herself. It was just a small cup but it was frozen. Our friend tried to soften it up a bit by squeezing the container. Unfortunately the entire bit of ice cream popped out of the container and onto the ground. Bella quickly grabbed and ate the entire thing in almost one bite. A few minutes later she promptly threw it up :) She probably got a brain freeze from all that cold at once.

The funniest thing we saw all day was a chocolate Lab in a pile of ice. Someone dumped a whole cooler full of ice onto the walking area for the dogs to cool off with. That puppy, which was probably 4 months old, was adorable to begin with, but he jumped into the pile of ice full on. He had all fours spread out with his belly fully onto the ice all the while trying to eat as many pieces as he could. He was soaking wet by the time it was all over. He didn't want to share the ice with other dogs! Looked a lot like those cute puppy commercials where the food is spilled on the floor and the puppy just lays completely in it. It was great and made everyone laugh.

Before long it was time to go home Bella and I were both worn out. We made the long walk back to the vehicle. I was not in too much pain, just extremely tired.

We made it home and in a short while I had some lunch and then took a nap. I made it through a big step on the road to recovery.